Bayern signs Inter’s Perisic
GERMAN Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich signed Croatia winger Ivan Perisic on loan for a season from Inter Milan yesterday after a widely expected move for Manchester City’s Leroy Sane fell through due to the player’s knee injury.
A 2018 World Cup finalist, Perisic, who also played for Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga between 2011 and 2015, will play for Bayern starting on Friday.
Bayern has an option to buy him next season.
The Croat, 30, will reinforce Bayern’s wings along with Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman following the departures of veterans Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Coman has also been plagued by serious injuries since joining the Bavarians two years ago.
“Ivan will instantly help us with his top-level experience,” said Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic in a statement.
“He is skilled and is flexible up front. I am certain he will quickly integrate because he knows the Bundesliga and also our coach Niko Kovac.”
Bayern had publicly expressed an interest to sign City winger Sane but the 23-yearold Germany international tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the Community Shield win over Liverpool at Wembley earlier this month.
The German champion, beaten by Dortmund in the German Super Cup this month, kicks off its Bundesliga campaign against Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Meanwhile, Barcelona officials headed to France yesterday for talks with Paris Saint-Germain to seal a return to the Spanish club for Brazilian star Neymar, reports said.
The club’s director for football, retired French international Eric Abidal, and two other top club officials few to Paris to meet with their PSG counterparts, Catalan radio Rac1 and Catalan television TV3 reported.
“The breakthrough is significant as PSG had up until now refused to meet with Barcelona emissaries but it does not mean that the deal is close,” Rac1 wrote on its website.
The deal which the Barcelona officials will propose could include other players such as Philippe Coutinho or Ivan Rakitic, it added.
PSG revealed on Saturday that Neymar transfer talks are “more advanced than before” after the Brazilian was dropped for the French champion’s opening Ligue 1 match.
Sporting director Leonardo confirmed that the Brazilian was near the exit door but that PSG was “not yet ready to give its approval” for the transfer.
(Agencies)